The Cryptid Files Page 6

  The silence was eerie out on the loch. She had expected to see birds or other boats on the water, but there was nothing. All she could hear was the gentle lap of water on the oars. Every muscle in her body felt rigid as she crouched over, sweating with the effort, trying to decide whether to continue or to go back.

  Something moved at great speed from behind the bank of trees, making Vanessa look up with a start. The hawk again – silent and predatory, it circled high over the boat. She felt sure it was the same one that had frightened her in the abbey before. Had it been watching and waiting for her? She stretched her neck backwards, following its every move, terrified it would swoop down on her again. And then she saw it dive and lift a small fish in its beak, soaring back up high into the sky and off behind the trees. How ridiculous she was being! It was simply a hawk, doing what hawks do.

  Vanessa tightened her grip on the left oar and then noticed that the right oar was gone. She must have let go as she watched the hawk. Standing up cautiously in the boat, she looked around in the water for it. Relieved, she saw that it was floating about 3 metres away to the right. She could easily punt over to it.

  It was slower progress than Vanessa imagined and she could feel a small knot of anxiety in her chest. She would be fine, she told herself. The last thing she needed now was an asthma attack. She couldn’t swim to the oar, as she would never be able to get back in the boat, so she would just have to paddle slowly.

  It seemed as if the oar was drifting away at exactly the same speed as she was moving towards it. The gap just wouldn’t close. She was quite a distance from Maggie’s now, and nobody could see her even if they were out in the garden. No panicking, just paddle harder she told herself.

  Finally, Vanessa’s efforts paid off. Using the other oar she pulled the one in the water in to the side of the boat. It would be difficult to get it up out of the water. Her hands were aching and her left palm was beginning to blister. She stood up again and with less caution this time leaned over the side of the boat, balancing on her stomach to pull it up.

  In that moment, as Vanessa balanced on the edge, not wanting to let go of the oar again, she saw what would happen before it actually did. In slow motion, the boat tipped further over under her weight, and she slipped silently into the water, head first. The heavy wooden boat turned turtle on top of her. It made a dull thud, there was no splash, and no shout as Vanessa went under.

  CHAPTER 16

  There are many strange things about Loch Ness. Locals say that it never gives up its dead. A number of people who drowned have literally disappeared and their bodies have never been found. Even dead fish don’t come to the surface.

  Vanessa did not feel the blow to the side of her head. It was numbed too quickly by the shock of cold water as her whole body went down. It was icy cold and painful on her skin. She tried to swim, hoping she was going up towards the surface. Her coat and shoes felt like lead weights and the pull downwards was almost overwhelming, but she kicked furiously until her face broke the surface. The moment of relief was intense, but it did not last. Why was it pitch black? Where was she?

  Bewildered and tired from kicking to keep afloat, her flaying arms hit out and she grazed her knuckles on something. Yes, the boat of course. She could feel the upside-down bench and the oarlocks: she was beneath the upturned boat. She’d have to go under again to swim out of the boat and do it quickly, because she would soon be too cold to move.

  Vanessa groped along the inside edge of the boat. Her clothes were waterlogged and her hands were numb with the cold. She was finding it hard to hold on. She went under and swam hard. The cold bit at her face and scalp, but she gasped with relief to be out in the air. She turned towards the bank.

  ‘Help!’ she croaked. She cleared her throat and tried to yell louder, but it made her cough hard. Even to her ears, it was a pitiful cry that wouldn’t be heard more than a couple of feet away. Could she swim to the shore? Normally, she could swim that distance with no problem, but her body ached with exhaustion. She couldn’t even get a hold on the upturned boat. It was too slimy.

  Seconds felt like hours and she knew she wouldn’t be able to cling to the surface much longer. Her limbs were getting heavier and her head lighter. She waited for something to happen, knowing that she couldn’t make it happen herself.

  She felt her vision blur and she blinked furiously. Her mind was blank with panic and her body weak with effort. Nobody could save her.

  ‘Mum, help me. Help me please …’ Her voice was barely a whisper.

  Was she imagining things? She felt the warmth creep over her and envelop her body. Her legs and arms, so tense and heavy, began to loosen slowly.

  She registered the glow of light beneath her, just seconds before she sank down deep into Loch Ness.

  CHAPTER 17

  On 30 July 1979, Alistair and Sue Boyd parked in a spot above Temple Pier when they saw a huge hump surface in the loch. It was about the size of a yacht hull, but by the time they got their camera from the car, it had disappeared.

  When Vanessa woke the first time, it was dark. From behind half-shut eyes and the filter of her lashes, she tried to make out some shapes. It was a vague blur and her brain registered nothing familiar. Her eyelids felt heavy as they closed over. She was too tired to fight sleep.

  The second time she opened them wide, she lay very still and looked straight ahead. Green. She rolled her head a little to the left and then the right. There appeared to be a soft green glow in the air all around her. Her hands and feet felt quite numb and her back ached. She wriggled slightly, testing her limbs, suddenly aware that she was lying on something extremely hard and uncomfortable. None of it made sense. Perhaps if she closed her eyes again, the dream would fade like the last time and she would find herself back in bed. Willingly, her eyelids shut the world out for a second time.

  She didn’t know how much actual time had passed before she came to properly. This time, she pulled herself up to a sitting position and looked around. Above her the stone ceiling arched like a cathedral roof and she saw a number of openings in the walls. Were there caves up there? she wondered. Looking down now she found that she was sitting on a ledge about 2 feet above the water, which shone an extremely odd shade of green. She lay down on her stomach and dipped her hand in, it was cool but not cold and she made ripples with her fingers. She watched the movement of the water around her hands and was quite unprepared for the sudden desire to get into the water that overwhelmed her. As she took off her socks and shoes, she noticed that it was the walls rather than the water that were glowing green. Was it some kind of algae? She lay on her stomach, hanging out quite far over the edge and peered into the deep as if it had some intense connection with her. The glow from the walls beneath the water allowed her to see down quite deep. She couldn’t be certain, but it looked as if the caves continued beneath the water. She scraped a little of the green algae off the walls and then sat up to examine it. She had seen something like it in the Blue Planet series on deep-sea creatures. Bio-luminescence, that was it. She remembered being astonished by the tricks of evolution that help in survival. Wasn’t it the hatchet fish that lived in the ocean at 4,500 feet? Not only did it glow, but it could change its brightness to attract prey or to camouflage it. And didn’t some jellyfish have to eat plants or algae to keep their glow?

  Why don’t you try some?

  Vanessa looked up, startled, as the sound of a voice echoed through her head. She was sure it hadn’t been spoken out loud. It had felt more like a reverberation inside her skull. A prickling fear crept through her, tightening every muscle in her body. She listened for any sound at all and, hearing only silence, she forced herself to stand up and look around. Should she shout out and see if anyone answered? She opened her mouth wide, but no sound came out. Stunned, she tried again, but no attempt to clear her throat or cough would produce any sound at all.

  She stood very still for a while, holding her breath for long periods and then breathing as quietly as she co
uld in between. Looking up above her, Vanessa scanned the walls for any shaft of light that might show a way out. But all the time, she kept being distracted in her thoughts by the water below, drawing her in. Trying hard to think about where she might be or how she got there, Vanessa felt her mind go blank. It was a pleasant sensation – calm and peaceful. True, she couldn’t remember where she was or what had happened just minutes before, but did it matter?

  Tired all of a sudden, she sat down and tried to reach the water with her toes. They dangled just out of reach of the surface. Time to dive in, she thought to herself. Time? What time was it? Glancing at her watch, she stopped in her tracks. What had happened to it? Why was the glass broken? It was difficult to see the hands, but it looked as though they had stopped at five o’clock. Morning or evening? A sudden image of herself in the rowing boat flashed through her mind, but before she could register it properly, it slipped away again. She felt frustrated more than afraid now, wondering when she would wake up from this weird and disjointed dream.

  Vanessa knew that time must be marching on as she sat and waited for something. For what, she didn’t know, just for something. But as there was no change in light and no second hand ticking on her watch, she had no sense of time passing. Eventually, she lay back down on the rock, and making a pillow with her fleece behind her head, she closed her eyes.

  CHAPTER 18

  On 13 October 1971, Police Sergeant George Mackenzie and Inspector Henry Henderson were with a group who watched two humps moving in the loch at about 10 to 15 mph. They guessed that the creature was about 30 to 40 feet long. ‘It was obvious that the two objects were part of one large animate object,’ Inspector Henderson is said to have reported.

  It was dark by the time Alan pulled the car into the driveway at Heather Cottage. He turned off the engine and sat quietly with his hands resting on the steering wheel. Without looking at Lee, his hand sought hers.

  ‘Thank you. That was one of the nicest days I have had in a long time.’

  Lee started to reply but Alan, lost in his own thoughts, continued determinedly.

  ‘Lee, you’ve been so good to us all, so understanding. It’s difficult …’ Alan stumbled over his words. ‘It can be a little difficult, I know … with Vanessa …’

  ‘Of course, it’s unbelievably difficult for her, Alan.’ Lee sounded more brisk than she intended. ‘I remember all too well what it’s like when your parents die.’

  Alan looked at her startled.

  ‘God, Lee, I know you do. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean …’

  Lee opened the car door and stood out. She waited until Alan got out and he looked at her across the roof. To his relief, she smiled at him.

  ‘I’m not upset, Alan. It’s all a long time ago for me. I’m just saying I understand Vanessa more than you or she thinks.’

  Alan squeezed her hand in his as they walked up to the cottage door. The windows on either side of the front door were lit up and the cottage looked so welcoming.

  ‘I love it here, Lee. I feel as if everything will come right eventually.’ Alan looked out at the loch and said absently, ‘Too late to go out in the boat now.’

  ‘We’ll go out early tomorrow instead,’ Lee agreed.

  ‘Our second last day,’ Alan added, and Lee could hear the tinge of sadness in his voice.

  ‘It’s even better here in early summer. We’ll come back then.’

  Alan smiled back at her fondly. ‘It’s a gift, you know.’ And when Lee looked at him in puzzlement, he added, ‘ To always say the right thing, I mean.’

  They could hear the sound of the television on in the sitting room. There was a fire already lit and the cat had taken up a most comfortable position on Ronan’s knee. A sci-fi programme was on and Maggie was busy with her knitting in the corner of the sofa.

  ‘Hi, guys, good fishing?’ Alan asked.

  ‘Oh, Dad, it was fantastic. I caught one this size.’ Ronan used his hands exuberantly to show the size and in doing so banged the cat, who rose disdainfully and jumped heavily to the floor.

  ‘Maggie says it’s a trout.’

  Alan looked around.

  ‘Where’s Vanessa? Did she fish with you?’

  There was silence, the boys once again engrossed in the TV programme.

  ‘Oh, she did, Alan, but the boys said she got tired of it and she went up to her room earlier in the afternoon.’ It was Maggie who answered him.

  ‘I’ll go up and see her. Are we having fish for supper then?’ He laughed. ‘I’ll cook tonight, Maggie. It’s your night off.’

  Alan took the stairs two at a time. He was thinking hard about his excuse for being late and the plan for the loch trip tomorrow morning.

  He knocked on Vanessa’s bedroom door but there was no answer. He paused before knocking again. Perhaps she was asleep. He turned to go down the stairs, and then hesitated with his hand on the banisters. It was half past five. It was late enough if she had slept in the afternoon. Time she got up. He turned back and knocked again, louder this time, but there was still no response. Slowly, he pushed open the door and walked into the bedroom.

  CHAPTER 19

  On 2 February 1959, AA patrolman Mr Hamish Mackintosh saw something out of this world – ‘as if a dinosaur had reared up out of the loch’ . He saw a broad, humped body, greyish in colour, with a thin neck and head, as tall as 8 feet above the water, moving towards the shore. He was joined by a local from a nearby house and they watched it together for about five minutes. Mr Mackintosh is believed to have said that he would never go out on Loch Ness in a small boat again.

  Alan tried not to look too concerned when he returned to the sitting room. There was a heated debate going on between Luke and Lee about the X-Files. Alan waited for a break in the intense discussion but it progressed rapidly to the existence of Area 51 and the possibility of alien abduction.

  ‘Well, that might account for your sister’s absence, I suppose,’ Alan interrupted.

  Luke looked at his father with a mildly puzzled face.

  ‘She’s not in her room,’ he explained.

  The boys looked blankly at him.

  ‘She’s probably taken her sketchpad out to the garden,’ Maggie offered.

  ‘It’s dark out there. Why would she do that?’ Ronan said, direct as ever.

  ‘Good point.’

  ‘I’ll just pop outside and have a look.’ Alan moved quickly down the hall into the kitchen and yanked open the back door. Nothing stirred, the air was suspiciously still. Lee joined him without a word and the two of them walked into the garden and down to the water’s edge.

  ‘Vanessa!’ Alan called. And when he got no answer he raised his voice. ‘Vanessa! Are you there? It’s dinner time.’

  Nothing.

  ‘Vanessa, it’s time to come in.’ A touch of panic now lifted the edges of his voice, but there was still no answer.

  ‘She’s probably just gone for a walk with Daisy. I didn’t see her in the house either.’

  ‘Of course, that’s probably it.’ There was relief in Alan’s voice, but he added crossly, ‘I’ll kill her if she’s wandered off without saying anything to Maggie or the boys. She knows she’s not allowed. It’s not as if she even knows the area.’

  As they turned back up to the house, they met Maggie coming through the kitchen door.

  ‘Perhaps Vanessa took Daisy for another walk, Maggie?’ Lee took Maggie’s hand in hers and they stood facing each other for a second before she answered.

  ‘No. James arrived this morning and took the dog back home, thank God. The daft mutt.’

  The silence that followed was awkward, nobody wanting to admit out loud that Vanessa was actually missing at this stage.

  ‘OK, let’s go back in to the boys and we’ll find out who saw her last.’ Maggie took charge. ‘We’d better just check every room in the house first in case she’s fallen asleep reading or sketching. Then, we’ll get torches and do the garden properly.’

  Nobody mentioned Loch Ne
ss.

  CHAPTER 20

  The waters of Loch Ness are darkened by peat particles so that nothing can be seen below 20 or 30 feet. It explains why photography and diving in the loch is so difficult. Sonar equipment has detected large, solid, living objects, bigger than fish or seals, but this technique cannot make out detail, so a creature like Nessie could stay well hidden in the depths.

  Vanessa felt the algae in her hands. Was it algae or wet moss? She couldn’t decide. It looked like algae but felt more like moss in her hands – spongy, with no smell at all. When Vanessa put it in her mouth it felt curiously natural to her. The taste was unsurprising – bland, almost grass-like. But when she took the moulded ball out of her mouth to examine it before swallowing it she was amazed at the intensity of the glow. It was as if chewing it had released energy.

  You’ll need more.

  Vanessa started and swallowed hard. The voice in her head was by far the most disturbing feature of all in this dream. Everything else, although odd, was surprisingly comforting, and she felt no fear.

  You’ll need to eat more to explore the waters.

  She felt compelled to obey, using her nails to scrape another handful off the cave wall and chewing dutifully.

  More.

  This was getting ridiculous. How could she stop it? Vanessa willed herself not to, but her hand reached out to scrape more moss.

  It was some time before she began to notice the changes in herself. Normally a light golden brown, the skin on her hands began to look increasingly pale and sickly. She watched mesmerised as her arms slowly took on a greenish colour and then began to glow. Rolling up her trouser legs, she discovered that her feet and legs were turning green too.